Store-ladder.



No. 848,021. w EIGKETT.

STORE LADDER. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 12, 1906.

ms NORHS Pznrns cm, WASHINSTON, n. c.

- PAT-ENTER) MAR. 2 1907..

UNITE STATES -A'rnN'r FFICE.

STORE-LADDER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 26, 1907.

Application filed June 12,1906. Serial No. 321,377.

1'0 al w/wm it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WALTER FIGKETT, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, and a resident of Portland, Maine, have invented certain newand useful Improvements in Store-Ladders, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to what are known as store-ladders, such as areused in stores of various kinds for putting up and removing goods fromthe shelves. These ladders are made in the form of a step-ladder withsteps and flat side pieces, and they are supported in aslightly-inclined position in front of the shelves, the lower end beingprovided with trucks, which run on the floor parallel with the shelves,while the upper end is provided with trucks which embrace a horizontalguide-rail supported in front of the shelves. By means of thisconstruction the ladders are capable of being rolled laterally along infront of the shelves and easily located at any desired spot. One of theprincipal uses to which these store-ladders are put is in placing goodson the shelves for exposure and sale after they have been removed fromthe packing-boxes in which they are received. Thus in a grocery-storethe clerk commonly removes the goods (which may be, for instance, cannedgoods of any kind) from the packing-boxes and taking as many as he cancarry in his arms he climbs the ladder and deposits them on the shelves.On the other hand, when there are a large number of cans to be takendown in one order he fills his arms full and backs down the ladder. Boththese operations are necessarily slow, and the goods held in the arms inthis way are quite liable to be dropped.

The object of the invention is to provide means for raising and loweringcomparatively large quantities of goods at one time in such a mannerthat the handling may be easy and safe. This I accomplish by means of mypresent invention, which consists, essentially, of a store-ladder of theclass described having attached to one of the side pieces a guide-rail,which is adjacent to and parallel with the side pieces of the ladder, onthis guide-rail being mounted a sliding bracket carrying a horizontalshelf. A spring-catch is secured to the bracket, which allows the sameto be lifted freely by catches and supports the shelf when moveddownward.

I illustrate my invention by means of the accompanying drawing, inwhich- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a store-ladder constructedaccording to my invention. Fig. 2 is an enlarged front elevation of aportion of the ladder, showing the bracket and shelf partially insection. Fig. 3 is a section on 9c 00 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a backelevation of the slide which constitutes part of the bracket, and Fig. 5is a section on y y of Fig. 2.

In the drawing, (1 represents one of the side pieces of thestore-ladder, which is somewhat inclined to the faces of the shelves. Iattach to this side piece a longitudinal guide, which is, as here shown,a flat guide-rail b, which is slightly offset from the ladder, beingsecured with screws and blocks in the usual manner. Sliding on this railis a bracket, which is made up of the slide e, formed to embrace theedges of the rail 6 with a brace d for supporting the shelf 0. The shelfis so secured that it may be tilted from and toward the shelves to bringit into a horizontal position to conform to the inclination of the vladder. In order to secure this adjustability of the shelf, I form onthe upper end of the slide a cross-piece e which is set at an anglewhich represents the average inclination of such ladders. The shelf isformed, as here shown, of a flat metal plate with a flange c turned downon all four sides to secure stiffness. The side next to the cross-piece6 is provided with vertical slots e and through these slots pass bolts6, by which the shelf is secured to the cross piece. B loosening thebolts 6 the shelf can be tilted from and toward the store-shelves tobring it to a horizontal position and to compensate for the differencein inclination in the different ladders.

The brace cl is secured rigidly to the outer end of the shelf 0, and thelower end is secured by a bolt 9 passing through a horizontal slot g tothe lower end of the slide. The lower end of the brace may be adjustedlaterally to conform to the position of the shelf. For the purpose ofholding the shelf at any desired elevation and permitting it to slideupward freely I rovide a spring-bolt f under the shelf, the liolt beingadapted to engage openings 1), formed in the guide-rail b. It is evidentthat any equivalent pawland -ratchet construction will answer this samepurpose as the spring-bolt and holes shown here.

It will be seen that a store-ladder made according to this design may beused in a variety of ways to avoid labor. A box may be set on the shelfand the latter then slid upward to the desired point, or the shelf maybe first located and the box carried on the shoulder and deposited onthe shelf. In taking down goods they may be piled on the shelf and thelatter lowered down by withdrawing the springbolt, or the goods may beloaded on the shelf when the latter is in its lower position and thenthe shelf may be lifted bodily. It will be seen that the guide rail andshelf being close to the side of the ladder are entirely out of the wayand do not interfere with the work of the clerks. It is evident that theguide-rail, the bracket, and the shelf may be constructed in a varietyof Ways other than as here shown.

1 claim 1. An attachment for store-ladders, comprising a guide-railadapted to be secured to the side of the ladder, a slide comprising anelongated substantially horizontal head and an elongated memberdepending therefrom and lying along and having extended inter lockingand slidable engagement with. said rail, a substantially horizontalshelf, means connecting said shelf adjustably to said head l to permitforward and baclnvard tilting of l the shelf, and in cans for securingthe slide at different elevations.

2. An attachment for store-ladders, consisting of a guide-rail adaptedto be secured to the side of the ladder, a slide having int erlockingand. slidable engagement with said rail, an expanded substantiallyhorizontal shelf having a vertical flange along its inner edge providedwith a pair of remote. substantially vertical slots, an inclined hraeesecured at its upper end to the shell' and having its lower end abuttingagainst the slide and provided with a substantially horizontal slot,threaded clamping members passing through said slots and secured to theslide, and means for securing the slide at dill'erent elevations.

S. \V. Barns, l\L\RY A. DONALDSON

